LESSON RECORDING & RETENTION POLICY
 

Bright Bee Tutors

Lesson Recording & Retention Policy

Last updated: 3 September 2026
Policy owner: Bright Bee Tutors
Website: brightbeetutors.com
Contact: brightbeestutors@gmail.com

 

1. Purpose of this policy

Bright Bee Tutors is committed to providing a safe, professional and supportive tutoring environment for all students.

As part of our safeguarding and quality assurance arrangements, online tutoring sessions may be recorded.

This policy explains how Bright Bee Tutors will:

• record tutoring sessions safely and appropriately;

• use recordings for safeguarding and quality assurance purposes;

• protect recordings from unauthorised access;

• control who can access recordings;

• retain recordings for an appropriate period;

• securely delete recordings when they are no longer required; and

• respond to requests or concerns relating to lesson recordings.

This policy applies to all online tutoring sessions arranged through Bright Bee Tutors.

It applies to:

• students;

• parents and guardians;

• tutors;

• Bright Bee Tutors owners and management;

• administrative staff; and

• other individuals working on behalf of Bright Bee Tutors.

This policy should be read alongside our Data Protection & Privacy Policy, Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy, Terms & Conditions and Cancellation and Rescheduling Policy.

 

2. Our recording commitment

Bright Bee Tutors recognises that lesson recordings contain personal information and must therefore be handled responsibly.

Recording lessons allows Bright Bee Tutors to provide an additional safeguarding measure and to maintain appropriate standards across our tutoring services.

We will take reasonable and proportionate steps to ensure that recordings are:

• collected lawfully and appropriately;

• used only for legitimate purposes;

• stored securely;

• accessible only to authorised individuals;

• retained only for as long as reasonably necessary; and

• securely deleted when no longer required.

Recordings will not be used for marketing, advertising or promotional purposes.

 

3. Why lessons are recorded

Online tutoring sessions may be recorded for the following purposes:

• safeguarding and protecting students and tutors;

• investigating safeguarding concerns or allegations;

• supporting the investigation of complaints;

• reviewing professional conduct;

• monitoring tutoring standards;

• quality assurance;

• resolving disputes where necessary;

• identifying and addressing inappropriate behaviour;

• supporting Bright Bee Tutors' safeguarding procedures; and

• complying with legal or regulatory obligations.

Recording is intended to provide an additional safeguard and is not intended to replace appropriate supervision, safeguarding procedures or professional judgement.

 

4. When lessons are recorded

Bright Bee Tutors may record online tutoring sessions arranged through our services.

Where a session is recorded, the relevant participants will be informed that recording is taking place.

Depending on the tutoring platform and recording settings, a recording may begin automatically or be started by an authorised person.

Tutors must not disable, interrupt or otherwise interfere with Bright Bee Tutors' authorised recording arrangements without permission.

If a technical issue prevents a session from being recorded, the tutor should report the issue to Bright Bee Tutors where appropriate.

 

5. What may be recorded

Depending on the platform and format of the lesson, recordings may contain:

• audio of the tutoring session;

• video of the tutor;

• video of the student where video is enabled;

• screen sharing;

• educational materials displayed during the lesson;

• written work displayed on screen;

• chat messages; and

• other information communicated through the tutoring platform.

Students and tutors should therefore avoid unnecessarily sharing sensitive personal information during tutoring sessions.

Tutors should keep lesson content professional and appropriate for the student's age and educational needs.

 

6. Use of recordings

Lesson recordings will only be accessed where reasonably necessary for the purposes outlined in this policy.

Recordings may be reviewed by authorised Bright Bee Tutors management or other authorised individuals where there is a legitimate reason to do so.

This may include:

• reviewing a safeguarding concern;

• investigating an allegation involving a tutor or student;

• investigating a complaint;

• reviewing professional conduct;

• assessing the quality of tutoring;

• investigating a dispute;

• responding to a legal request; or

• complying with a legal or regulatory requirement.

Recordings will not be routinely reviewed without a legitimate reason.

Bright Bee Tutors will seek to minimise unnecessary access to recordings.

 

7. Safeguarding and lesson recordings

Lesson recordings form part of Bright Bee Tutors' wider safeguarding arrangements.

A recording may assist in identifying or investigating:

• inappropriate behaviour;

• inappropriate communication;

• breaches of professional boundaries;

• safeguarding disclosures;

• concerning interactions;

• allegations involving a tutor;

• allegations involving a student; or

• other behaviour that may place a child or young person at risk.

Where a recording identifies a safeguarding concern, Bright Bee Tutors may access and retain the relevant recording for as long as reasonably necessary to protect the child and support any safeguarding process.

The normal retention period may therefore be extended where this is necessary for safeguarding purposes.

Further information can be found in our Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy.

 

8. Retention period

Lesson recordings will normally be retained for three months (90 days) from the date of the tutoring session.

Once the three-month retention period has expired, the recording will be securely deleted unless there is a legitimate reason for retaining it for longer.

Bright Bee Tutors will not retain recordings indefinitely.

A recording may be retained beyond three months where reasonably necessary in connection with:

• an ongoing safeguarding concern or investigation;

• an unresolved complaint;

• an ongoing dispute;

• legal proceedings or a potential legal claim;

• a request from the police or another competent authority;

• a legal or regulatory requirement; or

• another legitimate reason requiring continued retention.

Once the reason for extended retention no longer applies, the recording will be securely deleted.

 

9. Secure deletion

When a recording reaches the end of its applicable retention period, Bright Bee Tutors will take reasonable steps to ensure that it is securely deleted.

Deletion may include removing the recording from:

• the relevant tutoring platform;

• cloud storage;

• authorised Bright Bee Tutors systems; and

• other authorised storage locations.

Tutors must not retain copies of recordings after the applicable retention period.

Where a tutor has been authorised to temporarily access or download a recording, they must securely delete it when it is no longer required.

 

10. Security of recordings

Bright Bee Tutors will take reasonable and appropriate measures to protect recordings against:

• unauthorised access;

• accidental loss;

• unauthorised copying;

• alteration;

• disclosure;

• distribution; and

• destruction.

Access to recordings will be restricted to authorised individuals who have a legitimate reason to access them.

Bright Bee Tutors will use appropriate security measures provided by the relevant tutoring or storage platform.

No tutor or other individual working for Bright Bee Tutors should attempt to bypass recording security or access controls.

 

11. Tutor responsibilities

Tutors have a responsibility to handle lesson recordings appropriately.

Tutors must:

• follow Bright Bee Tutors' recording requirements;

• not disable authorised recording without permission;

• not make unauthorised copies of recordings;

• not download recordings unless expressly authorised;

• not store recordings on personal devices unless expressly authorised;

• not upload recordings to personal cloud storage;

• not share recordings with unauthorised individuals;

• not publish recordings on social media;

• not use recordings for personal or promotional purposes;

• report recording or privacy concerns promptly; and

• comply with Bright Bee Tutors' safeguarding and data protection requirements.

Tutors must not independently record students using personal devices, software or accounts.

Failure to comply with these requirements may result in removal from tutoring duties and/or termination of the tutor's agreement with Bright Bee Tutors.

 

12. Parent and student responsibilities

Parents, guardians and students must respect the privacy of tutors and other participants.

Parents, guardians and students must not independently:

• record tutoring sessions;

• take screenshots of participants;

• download recordings;

• distribute recordings;

• publish recordings;

• upload recordings to social media; or

• share recordings with individuals who are not involved in the tutoring arrangement,

without prior permission from the relevant individuals and Bright Bee Tutors where appropriate.

Any concerns about a lesson recording should be raised directly with Bright Bee Tutors.

 

13. Access to recordings

Access to recordings is restricted to authorised individuals.

A parent or guardian may request access to a recording involving their child, subject to applicable data protection requirements.

Bright Bee Tutors may need to restrict, redact or refuse access where a recording contains information relating to another individual.

Access may also be restricted where providing the recording could:

• compromise another person's privacy;

• place an individual at risk;

• interfere with a safeguarding investigation;

• prejudice legal proceedings;

• reveal confidential information;

• breach another person's data protection rights; or

• otherwise be prohibited or restricted by law.

Bright Bee Tutors will consider each request in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.

 

14. Sharing recordings with third parties

Recordings will not routinely be shared with third parties.

However, Bright Bee Tutors may share a recording or relevant information from a recording where this is lawful and reasonably necessary.

This may include sharing information with:

• the police;

• children's social care;

• safeguarding professionals;

• legal representatives;

• relevant regulatory authorities;

• a parent or guardian where appropriate; or

• another organisation where disclosure is necessary to protect a child or comply with a legal obligation.

Information will only be shared where there is an appropriate lawful basis for doing so.

Where possible, Bright Bee Tutors will limit disclosure to the information that is necessary and proportionate.

 

15. Data protection

Lesson recordings may constitute personal data where individuals can be identified.

Bright Bee Tutors will process recordings in accordance with applicable UK data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Bright Bee Tutors will take into account the principles of:

• lawfulness, fairness and transparency;

• purpose limitation;

• data minimisation;

• accuracy;

• storage limitation;

• integrity and confidentiality; and

• accountability.

Further information about how Bright Bee Tutors processes personal data can be found in our Data Protection & Privacy Policy.

 

16. Withdrawal of consent

Where consent is relied upon as the lawful basis for recording or processing, the relevant individual may withdraw their consent.

Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing that took place before consent was withdrawn.

Because recording forms an important part of Bright Bee Tutors' safeguarding and quality assurance arrangements, withdrawing consent may affect our ability to provide or continue certain tutoring services.

Bright Bee Tutors will consider the circumstances and, where appropriate, discuss alternative arrangements with the parent or guardian.

 

17. Safeguarding concerns involving recordings

Where a recording is relevant to a safeguarding concern, Bright Bee Tutors may retain the recording beyond the normal three-month retention period.

This may be necessary to:

• protect a child;

• assess a safeguarding concern;

• support an investigation;

• respond to an allegation;

• cooperate with children's social care or the police; or

• comply with a legal requirement.

The recording will be handled in accordance with our Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy.

The existence of a recording does not prevent Bright Bee Tutors from taking immediate safeguarding action where necessary.

 

18. Complaints and disputes

Where a recording is relevant to a complaint or dispute, Bright Bee Tutors may access and retain the relevant recording where reasonably necessary to investigate and resolve the matter.

The recording may be reviewed alongside other relevant information.

Where a complaint or dispute remains unresolved at the end of the normal three-month retention period, the relevant recording may be retained until the matter has been appropriately resolved.

Once the matter has been resolved and there is no further legitimate reason to retain the recording, it will be securely deleted.

 

19. Professional boundaries

Recording does not remove the requirement for tutors to maintain appropriate professional boundaries.

Tutors must continue to comply with Bright Bee Tutors' safeguarding requirements, including requirements relating to:

• professional communication;

• appropriate lesson content;

• student privacy;

• communication outside lessons;

• personal social media;

• inappropriate behaviour; and

• safeguarding concerns.

Tutors must not rely on lesson recording as a substitute for appropriate professional conduct.

 

20. Technical issues

Bright Bee Tutors recognises that technical problems may occasionally affect lesson recording.

Technical issues may include:

• recording failure;

• audio or video failure;

• incomplete recordings;

• platform outages;

• corrupted recordings; or

• accidental deletion.

Where a recording does not successfully take place, Bright Bee Tutors will not attempt to recreate the recording retrospectively.

A failure to record a particular session does not mean that safeguarding procedures do not apply.

Tutors must continue to report safeguarding concerns regardless of whether a recording is available.

 

21. Confidentiality

Recordings will be treated as confidential information.

Individuals with access to recordings must not disclose information from a recording unnecessarily.

However, confidentiality cannot be guaranteed where information needs to be shared to:

• protect a child;

• prevent serious harm;

• investigate a safeguarding concern;

• comply with the law;

• respond to a lawful request; or

• protect another individual.

Bright Bee Tutors will share information on a need-to-know and proportionate basis.

 

22. Changes to this policy

Bright Bee Tutors may update this policy from time to time to reflect:

• changes in legislation;

• changes in data protection requirements;

• changes in safeguarding guidance;

• changes to tutoring platforms;

• changes to recording technology;

• changes to our services; or

• lessons learned from incidents or complaints.

The most recent version of this policy will be made available through the Bright Bee Tutors website.

 

23. Policy review

Bright Bee Tutors will review this policy regularly and at least annually.

The review may consider:

• recording practices;

• safeguarding concerns;

• complaints;

• data protection requirements;

• feedback from parents and students;

• feedback from tutors;

• changes in technology;

• changes in legislation;

• retention periods; and

• information security.

Next scheduled review: September 2027

 

24. Related policies

This policy should be read alongside:

• Data Protection & Privacy Policy

• Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy

• Terms & Conditions

• Tutor Terms & Conditions / Tutor Agreement

• Cancellation and Rescheduling Policy

• Complaints Procedure

• Cookie Policy

• Tutor Code of Conduct, where applicable

Together, these documents form part of Bright Bee Tutors' safeguarding, privacy and data protection framework.

 

25. Contact

For questions or concerns relating to lesson recordings or the retention of recordings:

Bright Bee Tutors
Email: info@brightbeetutors.com
Website: brightbeetutors.com

Where a concern relates to safeguarding, it should be reported promptly in accordance with our Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy.

For an immediate emergency where a child is at serious and immediate risk, the appropriate emergency service should be contacted without delay.

 

Policy statement

Bright Bee Tutors is committed to using lesson recordings responsibly to support the safety of students, the protection of tutors and the quality of our tutoring services.

Recordings will only be accessed and retained where reasonably necessary, will be securely managed and will normally be deleted after three months (90 days).

The safety, privacy and wellbeing of our students remains our priority.